Morris Township adopts package of rezonings, redevelopment plans and rules to meet fourth-round affordable-housing mandate

The Morris Township Committee on March 9 adopted a coordinated set of ordinances and an amended redevelopment plan intended to implement the township's fourth-round affordable-housing plan under the state's Fair Housing Act.

Town officials said the package — which rezoned multiple sites, amended the Mount Kemell redevelopment plan and updated local affordable-housing regulations and the development-fee ordinance — creates the realistic opportunities the state and the court require for the township to maintain immunity from builder's-remedy litigation. "We have tried to preserve local control while meeting a state-imposed deadline," affordable-housing attorney Steve Warner said during the meeting.

Why it matters: Morris negotiated its prospective-need obligation down from a DCA figure of 571 units to 375 units and used a mix of extensions of existing deed restrictions and statutory bonus credits so that more than half the obligation can be satisfied without new construction, officials said. Where new housing might be built, the committee rezoned multiple sites so developers can pursue applications; those applications will be subject to future site-plan review for traffic, stormwater and environmental protections.

What the committee adopted (votes at a glance): - Resolutions 62-26 through 66-26 (administrative / compliance items): approved by roll call (unanimous). - Ordinance 04-26 (60 Columbia Road: zoning for 382 units; 84 affordable): adopted (roll call: unanimous yes). - Ordinance 05-26 (227 Sussex Avenue: rezoning for up to 175 townhomes; 35 affordable): adopted (roll call: majority yes; Committeemember Janata voted no). - Ordinance 06-26 (300 Madison Avenue: 118 townhomes; 24 affordable): adopted (roll call: passed; one no recorded). - Ordinance 07-26 (100 Southgate Parkway: 104 townhomes; 21 affordable): adopted (roll call: unanimous yes). - Ordinance 08-26 (291 James Street: up to 15 townhomes; 3 affordable): adopted (roll call: unanimous yes). - Ordinance 09-26 (Old Turnpike: special-needs group home / five bedrooms): adopted (roll call: unanimous yes). - Ordinance 10-26 (Amended Mount Kemell redevelopment plan; 139 units total; 23 affordable): adopted (roll call: unanimous yes). - Ordinance 11-26 (local UHAC/development-fee updates to conform with amended statewide rules): adopted (roll call: unanimous yes).

Officials's explanation: Township planner Elizabeth Laney and counsel Steve Warner framed the actions as zoning- and regulatory steps that create the legal "realistic opportunity" for housing developers to propose projects. "These are zoning choices, not site approvals," Laney said. Town professionals repeatedly told residents that detailed traffic studies, stormwater and wetland delineations occur later at the site-plan and permitting stage, when engineers prepare specific mitigation measures.

Public reaction: Hundreds of residents attended in person and online. Speakers urged the committee to slow down, raised specific concerns about traffic, school capacity, wetlands and the loss of tree canopy, and said the public-notice process had been confusing (several residents cited a certified-mail notice that mistakenly named the wrong weekday). "How are they going to add 130 homes? There's no traffic light," Regina Grich told the committee during the 60 Columbia Road hearing. Andrea Herman and others pressed planners on flood risk, radon and whether access roads would be extended into existing neighborhoods.

Officials's response to concerns: Planners and the township engineer said transport and safety questions will be analyzed when a developer submits a site-plan application; that filing will require traffic, stormwater and wetland permitting and public hearings before the planning board. They also said many of the sites are redevelopment of underused office properties or parcels with willing sellers and that the township is not using eminent domain for these proposals.

What's next: The adopted rezoning ordinances do not approve building plans; they permit specific forms of development so that developers can prepare detailed site plans. Any future site-plan applications will be noticed, reviewed by municipal professionals, and heard publicly by the Planning Board. The committee also appointed Samantha Rothman to temporarily fill a vacant committee seat until the November election.

The committee's action meets the town's immediate procedural deadline, officials said; residents left the meeting urging continued public scrutiny at the site-plan stage and saying they expect the township and prospective developers to address traffic, wetlands and school impacts before construction begins.